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Inkheart

Imagine it were possible to bring the characters from a book to life. Not like when you listen to an audiobook with such enchantment that the characters seem to jump off the pages and into your bedroom...but for real. Imagine they could actually climb out of the pages and into our world. Then imagine if those characters brought their world into ours.

Dragon Rider

Firedrake, a young dragon, receives a frightening warning one night: Humans are planning to destroy the valley in which he lives! All the dragons must flee. Their only refuge is a place above the clouds called the Rim of Heaven, which may not even exist.

Reckless: Reckless, Book 1

Beyond the mirror, the darkest fairy tales come alive.... For years, Jacob Reckless has enjoyed the Mirrorworld’s secrets and treasures. Not anymore. His younger brother has followed him. Now dark magic will turn the boy to beast, break the heart of the girl he loves, and destroy everything Jacob holds most dear... unless he can find a way to stop it.

The Thief Lord

Prosper and Bo are orphans on the run from their cruel aunt and uncle. The brothers decide to hide out in Venice, where they meet a mysterious thirteen-year-old boy who calls himself the "Thief Lord." Brilliant and charismatic, the Thief Lord leads a ring of street children who dabble in petty crimes. Prosper and Bo delight in being part of this colorful new family. But the Thief Lord has secrets of his own.

The Hammer of Thor: Magnus Chase and the Gods of Asgard, Book 2

Thor's hammer is missing...again. The thunder god has a disturbing habit of misplacing his weapon - the mightiest force in the Nine Worlds. But this time the hammer isn't just lost; it has fallen into enemy hands. If Magnus Chase and his friends can't retrieve the hammer quickly, the mortal worlds will be defenseless against an onslaught of giants. Ragnarok will begin. The Nine Worlds will burn. Unfortunately the only person who can broker a deal for the hammer's return is the gods' worst enemy, Loki - and the price he wants is very high.

Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone, Book 1

Harry Potter has never even heard of Hogwarts when the letters start dropping on the doormat at number four, Privet Drive. Addressed in green ink on yellowish parchment with a purple seal, they are swiftly confiscated by his grisly aunt and uncle. Then, on Harry's eleventh birthday, a great beetle-eyed giant of a man called Rubeus Hagrid bursts in with some astonishing news: Harry Potter is a wizard, and he has a place at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. An incredible adventure is about to begin!

Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children

A mysterious island. An abandoned orphanage. A strange collection of very curious photographs. As our story opens, a horrific family tragedy sets 16-year-old Jacob journeying to a remote island off the coast of Wales, where he discovers the ruins of Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children. As Jacob explores its abandoned bedrooms and hallways, it becomes clear that the children were more than just peculiar. They may have been dangerous. And somehow—impossible though it seems—they may still be alive.

The Land of Stories: An Author's Odyssey

In the highly anticipated continuation of the Land of Stories series, Conner learns that the only place to fight the Masked Man's literary army is inside his own short stories. When the twins and their friends enter worlds crafted from Conner's imagination, the race begins to put an end to the Masked Man's reign of terror. Can the twins finally restore peace in the fairy tale world?

The Lightning Thief: Percy Jackson and the Olympians, Book 1

Twelve-year-old Percy Jackson is about to be kicked out of boarding school...again. No matter how hard he tries, he can't seem to stay out of trouble. But can he really be expected to stand by and watch while a bully picks on his scrawny best friend? Or not defend himself against his pre-algebra teacher when she turns into a monster and tries to kill him? Of course, no one believes Percy about the monster incident; he's not even sure he believes himself.

The Hobbit

Like every other hobbit, Bilbo Baggins likes nothing better than a quiet evening in his snug hole in the ground, dining on a sumptuous dinner in front of a fire. But when a wandering wizard captivates him with tales of the unknown, Bilbo becomes restless. Soon he joins the wizard’s band of homeless dwarves in search of giant spiders, savage wolves, and other dangers. Bilbo quickly tires of the quest for adventure and longs for the security of his familiar home. But before he can return to his life of comfort, he must face the greatest threat of all.

The Neverending Story

In this classic fantasy novel from author Michael Ende, small and insignificant Bastian Balthazar Bux is nobody's idea of a hero, least of all his own. Then, through the pages of an ancient, mysterious book, he discovers the enchanted world of Fantastica, and only Bastian himself can save the fairy people who live there. Shy, awkward Bastian is amazed to discover that he has become a character in the mysterious book he is reading and that he has an important mission to fulfill.

The Sword of Summer: Magnus Chase and the Gods of Asgard, Book One

Magnus Chase has always been a troubled kid. Since his mother's mysterious death, he's lived alone on the streets of Boston, surviving by his wits, keeping one step ahead of the police and the truant officers. One day he's tracked down by an uncle he barely knows - a man his mother claimed was dangerous. Uncle Randolph tells him an impossible secret: Magnus is the son of a Norse god.

The Emerald Atlas: Books of Beginning

Kate, Michael, and Emma have been in one orphanage after another for the last ten years, passed along like lost baggage. Yet these unwanted children are more remarkable than they could possibly imagine. Ripped from their parents as babies, they are being protected from a horrible evil of devastating power, an evil they know nothing about. Until now. Before long, Kate, Michael, and Emma are on a journey to dangerous and secret corners of the world....

The Amulet of Samarkand: The Bartimaeus Trilogy, Book 1

Nathaniel is eleven-years-old and a magician's apprentice, learning the traditional art of magic. All is well until he has a life-changing encounter with Simon Lovelace, a magician of unrivaled ruthlessness and ambition. When Lovelace brutally humiliates Nathaniel in public, Nathaniel decides to speed up his education, teaching himself spells far beyond his years. With revenge on his mind, he masters one of the toughest spells of all and summons Bartimaeus, a five-thousand-year-old djinni, to assist him.

Peter and the Starcatchers: The Starcatchers, Book 1

In an evocative and fast-paced adventure on the high seas and on a faraway island an orphan boy named Peter and his mysterious new friend, Molly, overcome bands of pirates and thieves in their quest to keep a fantastical secret safe and save the world from evil.

The Burning Tide: Spirit Animals: Fall of the Beasts, Book 4

A dark threat faces the world of Erdas in this riveting new saga from the New York Times best-selling series. The jaw-dropping conclusion to the best-selling series is here, written by acclaimed author Jonathan Auxier.

Water Keep: Farworld, Volume 1

Even though ­thirteen-­year-­old Marcus Kanenas is confined to a wheelchair, he sees himself as a survivor and a dreamer. In fact, his favorite dream is of a world far away, a world where magic is as common as air, where animals tell jokes, and where trees beg people to pick their fruit. He even has a name for this place - Farworld. When Marcus magically travels to Farworld, he meets Kyja, a girl without magic in a world where spells, charms, and potions are everywhere, and Master Therapass, a master wizard who has kept a secret hidden for 13 years, a secret that could change the fate of two ­worlds.

Ember Falls: The Green Ember Series, Book 2

The stage is set. It's war. Morbin Blackhawk, slaver and tyrant, threatens to destroy the rabbit resistance forever. Heather and Picket are two young rabbits improbably thrust into pivotal roles. The fragile alliance forged around the young heir seems certain to fail. Can Heather and Picket help rescue the cause from a certain, sudden defeat?

Publisher's Summary

Although a year has passed, not a day goes by without Meggie thinking of Inkheart, the book whose characters came to life and changed her life forever.

But for Dustfinger, the fire-eater brought into being from words, the need to return to the tale has become desperate. When he finds a crooked storyteller with the ability to read him back, Dustfinger leaves behind his young apprentice Farid and plunges into the medieval inkscape once more.

Distraught, Farid goes in search of Meggie, and before long, both are caught inside the book, too. There they meet Inkheart's author, Fenoglio, now living within his own story. But the tale is much changed, and threatening to evolve in ways none of them would ever have imagined. Will Meggie, Farid, and Fenoglio manage to write the wrongs of a charmed world? Or is their story on the brink of a very bad ending?

While my husband and I are enjoying the story and writing in Inkspell even more than the original Inkheart, the switch in readers from the very talented Lynn Redgrave to the very.... um... good-looking.... Brendan Fraser has made listening to this series a chore. We have several times been tempted to go purchase the actual book so we can finish the story without Fraser's horribly jarring narration, but having spent so much money on the audiobook here at Audible, we feel like we might as well try to finish it.

Our chief complaint is his decision to voice almost all young or female characters as shrill and screeching. We dread the chapters featuring Elenor, though Redgrave's portrayal of her in the first book made her one of our favorite characters. Also irritating is how almost every character is given a strong foreign accent based apparently on cultural stereotypes. Even though almost all of these characters are supposed to live in the same general region and speak the same language, romantic women have thick Tuscan accents, evil women have a strong Russian accent heavily reminiscent of Bullwinkle cartoons, uppity characters have French accents so thick you can barely make them out, criminals are Cockney, heroes are Irish, the only character actually described in the story as Italian sounds like a Jersey mob boss, and the only Black character, of course, sounds like he could have starred in Forrest Gump. Finally, Fraser's constant. over. enunci. ation. of. words. for. em. pha. sis is driving us nuts. This isn't Star Trek!

This is a very entertaining and well-written story, but if the quality of the narration is at all important to you, I recommend purchasing the actual book and reading it yourself.

This is my first time providing feedback on an audiobook, although I've been an avid 'listener' for years now. On the recommendation of Audible, I downloaded Inkheart and thoroughly enjoyed the story and Lynn Redgrave's wonderful narration. I quickly went in search of the sequel, Inkspell, and was a bit disappointed when I heard Brendan Fraser's voice narrating it but was quickly surprised and impressed with his ability to bring the characters to life. This was one of those books that made me look for an excuse to drive somewhere so I could listen to it in the car, and made it really difficult to get out of my car once I got back home!
I was on the edge of my seat at the end of Inkspell, waiting for the whole story to get wrapped up, when I realized, with only 14 minutes left, that this wasn't going to happen and there would be a sequel. I'm disappointed that the sequel isn't available yet, but I'm counting on it being as wonderful as the first two books of the trilogy. This is a wonderful story for adults as well as children, and well worth the time spent listening to the unabridged edition.

While I'm not a huge Cornelia Funke fan (I listen in the car, with my daughter, who is), I was drawn into "Inkheart" by Lynn Redgrave's skillful and coherent narration (full disclosure: we both have a certain preference for the stage-trained English voice).

Brendan Fraser's take on "Inkspell" is hugely disappointing (both listeners agree). His accents are inconsistent, and all over the (world) map, marked by bursts of strident enthusiasm, and ... gratuitous ... pauses ... for ... emphasis. But, judging from other reviewers' positive response, taste in narrators, as in all else, is ever personal...

I thought Inkheart was wonderful, but Inkspell outdoes it. The Ink world is so imaginative and evocatively realized. I also did not know it was the center of a trilogy so the ending was more of a non-ending in the way of the Empire Strikes Back from the Star Wars trilogy, which is not saying that it takes away from the book in any way (we all know Empire was the best of series). I am really looking forward to seeing how it's all going to be resolved. I'm not a child and found the story to be absolutely compelling and complex enough for adults; I actually think it may be a bit too much for younger children - there is violence and death.

BTW, although not withstanding a few quirks (a sometimes staccato delivery, wildly speeding up the narrative to convey exciting action, and placing too much emphasis on certain words when it's not really necessary) Brendan Fraser does an excellent job narrating. He's one of the few book readers that understands his job is to entertain and "perform" the story, which he does with exuberant enthusiasm. With some of the characters I actually forgot it was still him reading (although his Elinor was quite annoying). I do think Lynn Redgrave slightly outdoes him (her Elinor was quite a hoot and kept me looking forward to those parts of Inkheart when Elinor was included - very funny), but overall I really enjoyed him and hope to be able to hear more of him in future books.

This is a worthy sequel to Inkheart. Even as an adult, I love the plot within a plot and the characters. And Lynn Redgrave's reading of the first book in the series was exquisite and subtle yet shows the depth of the characters written by Cornelia Funke. I so wanted to enjoy this book equally well. But I didn't.

I never thought that the wrong narrator would make an achingly hard listen for me. But I found out I was terribly wrong.

Frankly, Brendan Fraser is the wrong narrator for this sequel. Perhaps no one can follow Redgrave. However, Fraser overacted every character using trite characterizations (see some of the other evaluations). I found myself cringing as Dustfinger, Elinor and others were voiced. And, sometimes I found it difficult to understand his words, the accents were so strong; this was frustrating as well.

Having said that, I do think that Brendan Fraser may be a good narrator for the right kind of book; and as his skill develops, perhaps his approach will become a little more subtle. Little pieces of his work in this title are actually very appealing (some of the sighs, the tempo, phrasing and other things) so I will not give up on him as a narrator.

However, if this book is ever re-released narrated by Lynn Redgrave, I'll not hesitate to buy another copy!

I had a hard time staying engaged with this story as compared to the first. I think after hearing the voices of the lady reading it in the first one, it made listening to Brendan hard for me to get into. I kiss found myself tuning out a lot and missing minutes at a time, so I may not be the best reviewer. I do love this series though. You have to listen to this one before the third one of course.

Exceptionaly good book. My son started reading it before me and he kept saying that Brendan Fraser was too good of a reader. I laughed and didn't pay much attention. Now that I have listened to Brendan I am shocked at how wonderful he was. The voices were wonderful. "You felt the book comming to life, as if this is what it had been waiting for." Listening to this book I am almost shocked the characters were not next to me. I am disapointed that he did not read all three of the books. I will gladly purchase the book Dragon Rider that he reads also.
As for the book itself, If you didn't like the first one, give this a try. If you did like the first one... DO Not Pass this one!
Again it is hard to read Ink Death without Brendan!

I prefer not to make comments on books as I believe each person needs to delve into their realms untarnished by the judgements of others. As such, this review is actually for the narrator.

Brendan Fraser is an amazing reader. I've liked him well enough in the various movies I've seen, but I had no idea I would enjoy this book so much more because of him. He has a pleasant voice which tells the story easily and blends well into the narration, allowing the many characters in this book to really attain a life of their own. His accents, tones and lilts are wonderful. It's so much simpler for me listening to a book this way, since I'm rarely sitting still while reading. The ability to differentiate between characters without having to rewind is invaluable.

I've enjoyed this book very much, more so than I did Inkheart, because of his reading. What a delightful surprise!